HISD okays Arabic immersion schools

The Houston school board granted approval Thursday for the district to open one of the nation's first public Arabic immersion elementary schools.

The new school reflects Superintendent Terry Grier's push to graduate more bilingual students. The district opened a Mandarin Chinese immersion school in 2012 and plans to have about 50 schools with Spanish dual-language programs next year after doubling the number last year.

"The fact is, America is a really terrible example of learning two languages," said school board member Harvin Moore, who sends his 10-year-old son to the Mandarin school. "I'm proud of the fact this district has done something about it."

The Arabic school, to be housed at the old Holden Elementary near the greater Heights area, will start small next year, with slots for nearly 90 kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students. Officials with the Houston Independent School District said instruction will be split evenly between Arabic and English.

"It's fabulous. It will open a lot of opportunities," said Lina Sabouni, chairwoman of the education committee of the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce Houston chapter.

Sabouni, who spoke Arabic growing up in Turkey, said the school was a great fit for Houston, with its diversity and nickname as the energy capital of the world. She said her own children didn't learn the language until college.

"Can you imagine starting early on?" she asked.

The greater Houston region has seen its Arabic-speaking population grow by more than a third since 2009, to 23,300 people last year.

HISD officials said the old Holden campus would require renovations, but they have not provided a cost estimate or requested start-up funding for the program. The board agenda item said the budget would be determined before next school year.

Trustees, who unanimously approved the Arabic school, said they expected it to generate strong interest from parents and students.

Ericka Mellon covers K-12 education for the Houston Chronicle, reporting on schools in the greater Houston area and on education issues statewide.

Before joining the Chronicle in 2006, she covered education for the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee and worked as an assistant editor at Chicago magazine. Mellon graduated from Northwestern University with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in journalism. Send story ideas and tips to ericka.mellon@chron.com.